Bloating fix: Eight steps to take when stomach troubles strike

Figure
out foods that trigger bloating

Your stomach feels hard, swollen and incredibly uncomfortable — yep, bloating has struck again. Experienced by a third of the population (and far more likely to hit women than men), bloating has myriad causes, and a major one is diet. If you're chronically bloated, keep track of what sort of foods and drinks you're consuming, and which ones coincide with bloating. The culprits could be foods high in fibre or resistant starch, some kinds of sugars or artificial sweeteners, fizzy drinks, dairy foods, certain fruits or vegetables, among other factors.

Exercise

Alvarez also advises that regular exercise can beat bloating by shoring up the muscles of your abdominal wall. Even a brief walk after a meal can aid digestion, and certain yoga poses (click here for examples) are also thought to relieve bloating by, uh, making it easier for gas to pass through the body.

Ease
stress

The causes of bloating can be mental as well as physical. According to The Telegraph, stress can reduce blood supply to the stomach and disrupt functioning of the digestive system, bringing on bloating. Anxiety can also have an impact by causing you to swallow more air than usual, reports CalmClinic.

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Rub a
ball over your stomach

Gastroenterologist Professor Terry Bolin, president of The Gut Foundation, told Whimn that you can help trapped gas move through the small intestine by rubbing any soft ball, such as a soft ball, over your abdomen.

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Burp
and fart

Sounds gross, but it's an obvious solution to release all that gas building up inside of you. "It's natural!" Dr Rebecca Reynolds, nutrition lecturer at the University of New South Wales, told Coach.

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See a
medical professional — and don't self-diagnose

Bloating can be a sign of a food intolerance, digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac disease or Crohn's disease, as well as other dire medical issues. However, its causes can also be far more innocuous — and you won't know until you're diagnosed by a qualified medical professional. "It's important not to self-diagnose – your first call of action for regular bloating is to go see a health professional like your GP," accredited practising dietitian Charlene Grosse told Coach.